Two days after the order was issued, before the storm swept across the human continent, Lightning and Maisie returned to Neverwinter.

When the two walked into the office, Roland couldn't help but be stunned.

Maisie hasn't changed much, but she's grown stronger than she was half a year ago, and when she squatted on top of her partner's head, she didn't look like a white dove, but a little like a goose.

What surprised him was the lightning.

Her hair had grown a lot, hanging from her ears to her shoulders, probably because she had been on a reconnaissance mission for a long time and had little time to take care of it, and it looked a little messy. The face is also dirty, the flight suit has several patches, and there are a few simple and ugly cloth bags on the sides of the legs, chest, and arms, as if they were sewn by themselves. Although he looks much more cumbersome than the original beautiful and new coat, he is more like an explorer.

But the biggest change was the eyes and the look on her face.

It was as if she had been detached from her memory overnight, and she was no longer the little girl of the past.

"Your Majesty, do you have something to do with me?"

Lightning asked after saluting.

Roland suppressed the emotion in his heart, and roughly recounted the information he had decoded and Ithine's speculation, "If the devil really has such a plan, the consequences will be unimaginable, so I hope you two can go to Eternal Winter and reconnoiter the mountain area to the north that no one has ever set foot in." The devils cannot be supplied without the red mist, and if they want to enter the mountains, they will inevitably leave a trail. ”

"How could this happen......" Lightning couldn't help but frown, "It's good that Maisie found the letter." But Your Majesty, what if the enemy goes underground? My abilities are limited, and it is difficult to detect deliberately hidden targets in the air. ”

"That's the worst-case scenario. "Judging by the results of Operation Torch, the devil's digging ability is far inferior to that of humans with devouring worms. However, it is not very likely that the devil who stretches the perspective to the overall situation, invades half of the Dawn Realm, and studies magic more deeply, does not find a single underground civilization ruin, since the Federation can obtain worm carriers by exploring the ruins, the enemy must also have this possibility. The fact that no trace of the carrier was found in the decisive battle of Taqila does not mean that there is no trace of the continental spine either. "The Witches of Divine Punishment will set off from Shoal Harbor with a magical core, and if you don't find an enemy, that's the last ditch. ”

"I see, I'll do my best. Lightning nodded.

"However, it will take at least a month to get from the southern tip of the Grey Keep to the northern borders of Eternal Winter, and during this time, you will most likely not be able to receive timely reinforcements and supplies. In addition, the inhabitants of the city may still be prejudiced against witches, and it is not safe to stay in the city, so you must be careful. ”

"Survival in the wild is an explorer's skill, Your Majesty," she said without hesitation, "not for a month, but for a year and a half." ”

"Coo!" Maisie said in agreement, spreading her wings.

"I'm sorry," Roland sighed, "you've just come back, and I've asked you to go further afield......"

"Your Majesty, you are serious...... Lightning's voice became a little muffled, "compared to those who died fighting the devil, compared to Sister Ash...... It's nothing at all. But after a while, she regained her spirits, "Since this is a new expedition, can you ...... as is customary?"

Roland was slightly stunned, and then reacted, "Of course you can." He stood up and stepped out from behind his desk.

Lightning raised his hand, saw the stains on his sleeve, and suddenly retracted, "Ah, no, no...... I forgot to change my clothes first, and it smells weird, so it's-"

However, before she could finish speaking, Roland had already stretched out his hands and hugged her.

"Thank you. I'll ask the tailor to make you a few more flying jackets in the way they are now, so you can rotate them when you're in the field. ”

Lightning fell silent for a moment, and it was a long time before she let out a low, nasal voice, "Hmm." ”

"And I grunt. Maisie craned her head.

"You've worked hard too. Roland stroked her full neck and smooth wings back and forth.

Nightingale then stepped forward and hugged the two, "Be sure to stay safe." ”

"We will. ”

When they left the office, Nightingale said with some emotion, "Lightning never said that he was 'limited' before. ”

Roland nodded sympathetically, changing to the old little girl, I was afraid that after he finished talking about Edith's speculation, he would pat his chest and say that everything will be left to me.

He had heard Leaf mention that after Ash and Usluk were gone, Lightning wept silently and did not recover for days. But looking at her appearance now, there is no trace of being immersed in grief and unable to extricate herself. Even the mention of ashes still makes her sad, but that sadness obviously doesn't stop her from moving forward, but turns into motivation for her.

"She's grown up. Roland sighed.

......

Although the faster the migration moves, the better it is, the distance from Greykeep to Wolfheart and Eternal Winter is calculated in months, and no matter how hard the Administration Department and the First Army try, the population problem in Neverwinter cannot be improved in a short period of time.

Not only did this make it difficult to carry out many long-conceived new projects for a while, but it also limited the further expansion of the existing industrial scale, and the devil's threat did not dissipate with the victory of Tachira as expected, and all kinds of problems accumulated and caused a lot of pressure on Roland.

Fortunately, the successful imitation of the Rubik's Cube of the Festival provided him with a way to promote his power - as long as there was no plan for him to confirm, he would stay in Anna's North Slope Laboratory and try to create a new generation of power sources with the Rubik's Cube as the core. After sending off Lightning and Maisie, as well as the "Roland" with the magic core, he devoted most of his time to this.

After all, once the magic power steam engine makes a breakthrough, it will bring much more help than any other project.

In addition to Anna, Selene also volunteered to be part of this groundbreaking study. Due to the remote location of the laboratory and the layers of guards, there is no need to worry about being accidentally bumped into by the people. The dozens of whiskers are not only extremely powerful, but also more flexible than fingers, and the installation of large components such as flywheels and pistons is effortless, greatly reducing Anna's burden.

For a while, the sight of a man, a woman, and a tentacle monster tossing around a machine became the norm here.

Soon, the first strange-looking prototype of the principle appeared in the laboratory.